Summary:

Lunasol has themed their Spring 2013 collection Vivid Colour Purification Makeup inspired by a colourful butterfly. However, I can tell you that the most colour you get in this collection will come from the nail polishes. I’m not all that into nail polish, but I was itching to give them a go, because they look lovely and bright and so colourful! I’m going to show you a close up of the Vivid Blue Green one below, and you can tell me what it reminds you of

Colour, as we all know, has the power to lift our spirits and mood and so with Spring in the air and for our friends in the temperate countries, that promise of warmth and sunshine just around the corner, the idea behind the collection is to lift the mood from the cold dark winter. This is reflected also in the Vivid Clear Eyes eyeshadow palettes that you see in the picture above.

Truth to tell, I didn’t think them very vivid in the true sense, because like previous Lunasol eyeshadow palette releases, they don’t go all out bang on with colour. Texture is shimmery and generally sheer but you may be interested to know that the colour will show up quite well on deeper skintones, if you manipulate the deeper shade in each palette and use a little imagination I’ll run down most of the collection for you, with swatches where possible and tell you my thoughts on them.

Vivid Clear Eyes – RM185

This is one of the more vivid and brighter colours in the Vivid Clear Eyes eyeshadow palettes – 01 Blue Green. You get a 4 pan palette with one dark colour, 1 light base shade, 1 highlight and 1 split pan with a lighter and darker shade. This is the same in all 5 colour variations. You can see the overview of the 5 palettes above and I’ve got the swatches of each of them for you below. The quality isn’t top notch thanks to poor lighting but it’ll give you an idea of colour and texture… I hope

Vivid Clear Eyes 01 Blue Green

All colours have shimmer in them and pigmentation is light. I wouldn’t say its sheer per se, as it is pretty pigmented, just that the colours are light. The shimmer white is a highlight, while the shimmer yellow serves as a base or even a highlight. The black makes a good base to bring out the other colours layered over it. The green is a pale seafoam which isn’t very inspiring and the deepest shade goes on my skin blue. This isn’t a palette I’d have chosen for myself, but I have to say that when worn, it looks a heck lot better than when swatched.

Vivid Clear Eyes 02 Pink

Again, the light colours are generally less pigmented and rather sheer, with the brown and pink showing up best on skin. I wasn’t too sure about this one. The pink does look rather vivid but I think someone who can pull off pink shadow, maybe as a touch of colour, layered over the brown, will give off a nice young vibe. Just don’t overdo it or risk looking like you’ve been crying.

Vivid Clear Eyes 03 Orange

More of the same. The light shades are less pigmented and more shimmery, while the darker shades have better pigment and are less shimmery. I didn’t take to this one because orange doesn’t look very good on my skin.

Vivid Clear Eyes 04 Khaki Beige

Truth to tell, I liked this palette best. All the colours, even the lighter ones were more pigmented, and there were 3 good pigmented colours in there – dark brown, gold and light brown. I would likely pick this one up in future because it makes a nice neutral palette that I know I can pull off for everyday. Not very vivid its true, but nice all the same.

Vivid Clear Eyes 05 Pink Beige

This one is another one I quite like. It is a rather more “rose gold” version of the Khaki Beige palette and all colours swatched well and easily with 1 swipe.

On an overall basis, as much as I love Lunasol, I think I prefer their 3 Dimensional eyeshadow palettes (Deep Beige and Mysterious Beige). I think the quality of the Vivid Clear Eyes palette is nice if you go for the Khaki Beige or Pink Beige palette. The Blue-Green, Pink and Orange does falter somewhat in terms of delivery as I did not feel the quality as as good as the beige ones. That said, despite the name, don’t expect really “vivid” colours and you won’t be disappointed.

The lip products in this collection are rather subdued which isn’t unusual for Lunasol but unusual when the collection is named Vivid Purification. That said, I do love the texture of the Lunasol Full Glamour Lips and the Full Glamour Lips lipstick. I say it always and I say it again that the only reason I am a lipstick fan and not a lipgloss fan is thanks to Japanese lip products. They go on sheer yet glossy and shiny with nice natural colour, and are never sticky or heavy. Lunasol lip products are like that. Not terribly exciting if I’m to be honest, but the quality can never be faulted.

Full Glamour Lips – RM111

There is no shimmer in the product, but as you can probably tell, the texture is not fully opaque. The colour I’d pick for myself would be Light Coral Pink only because its the most intense shade. Intense of course, being relative. I wouldn’t complain because I like these sorts of texture (I know you see me in strong opaque shades all the time but in reality, I wear a lot of these sheer glossy lipsticks ) and I’m still labouring away at my T’estimo lipsticks – anyone remember and love those too?

Full Glamour Liquid Lips – RM104

Despite coming in a liquid form with a doe foot wand, this isn’t lipgloss. It isn’t quite liquid lipstick either. I peg these as something in between – more pigmented than gloss, less pigmented than lipstick. It imparts a lovely shine to the lips, doesn’t look strong or heavy, gives a tint of colour and is not sticky or goopy. I like these. I dislike the price, but I like them. My personal pick is EX11 Red Beige because it is, again the strongest shade of the new limited colours.

Coloring Cheeks N – RM90 (case sold separately)

Here’s my favourite category – blush! I love Lunasol blushes (please give me a swift kick up the butt if I don’t tell you about the ones I have soon!) and shown here are Coloring Cheeks N of 01 Light Pink, 02 Light Coral and 03 Soft Beige Red. I believe they are existing shades released to compliment the collection.

You can also see the Brow Styling Compact N (RM138) that comes in 2 shades for natural looking brows. I’ve personally never quite got the hang of a brow powder so I stick to pencils.

Nail Finish N – RM56

As I told you right at the top, the most vivid part of the Vivid Color Purification range is the nail polishes that come in 5 beautiful bright shades. It is very easy to apply, with a smooth, almost gel-like finish. Very pretty and quite easily the most eye catching item (and most affordable!) of the whole range.

There is also a mascara and a treatment gloss, which is a lip treatment that has a hint of colour. I’m told the latter is very popular so some day I’ll give it a go

In a nutshell

The Lunasol Vivid Color Purification makeup collection for Spring 2013 incorporates bright shades into its point makeup, but the colour does fall short of the vividness promised. The stars in terms of colour are the nail polish. I was very impressed with their colour and texture and I don’t impress easily when it comes to nail polish. I like the bright shades and I’d love to pick up the yellow or red or even that dusky pink. The rest of the collection is very typical of Lunasol. The textures tend to be on the sheer side, with light colours. This doesn’t do it for everyone. I am a fan of Japanese makeup so I do quite like some of them. The lip products for one always get me and the blushes. The Vivid Clear Eyes eyeshadow palette is a bit hit or miss. I’d go for the neutral shades in this one. I felt the texture and colour were better than the brighter coloured versions. But ultimately, I’d say that this is a collection for fans of Japanese style makeup and not for everyone and even then, fans of Lunasol may be a little underwhelmed.

Pros: Lip products impart a lovely shine and glow to the lips without looking too heavy and opaque, Blushes give skin a very lovely glow and can be used for colour and highlight, Eyeshadows can make eyes look brighter with a sheer natural vibe but it will not appeal to everyone

Cons: Pricey, Texture and colours are sheer and light and may not suit everyone’s tastes, Eyeshadows may be too shimmery for some

Who will like this: Anyone who enjoys using Japanese makeup and appreciates their texture and sheerer pigment and light colours

I was going to include a quick look I did with some items from the collection along with some thoughts on a couple of individual items, but I think this post is too long already so I’ll show it to you in a separate post. If you’ve already come this far, gosh! *applause*

But I wanted to share with you the nail polish in Vivid Blue Green. Tell me, what does the colour remind you of?

Do you like using Japanese makeup? Does anything from the Lunasol Spring 2013 collection grab you?

Japanese style makeup isn’t for everyone. I personally like it a lot but I know many people find them too light, too shimmery, too underwhelming. I don’t – I find them far less easy to make a mistake with than with very strong pigmented shades, but again, it comes down to personal preference

Paris B

Lunasol Vivid Color Purification makeup is available at Kanebo counters and salons at major department stores locally. Prices are as set out above in the post.

Not familiar with the China Glaze but this one is pretty and you know I’m not into polish and yes, that’s the regular lipstick packaging. It’s not a very shiny rose gold colored tube and the quality if the lipsticks are good. Just that its super pricey.

Finally! I was waiting for true, clear, vivid swatches of those eyeshadow palettes and I must admit, khaki beige impress me much now! Initially I was thinking to get the blue or the pink but I think I shall stick with my 3 dimensional soft beige that has a light pink too! Thank you so much, paris!

Nah,,,shall give this a total miss…Lunasol eye-shadows ; nothing bright or vibrant about it…I’m still using their last year or 2 years ago collection, only because its so expensive..haha..i always experience eye-shadow drop-out galore when i use it…pfftt….

Aww that’s a pity, Kel. Which ones did you get? There were a couple of collections where the palettes weren’t impressive at all so I never paid attention. One was the Geminate Eyes which I thought was awful. I like the Ocean range which is good quality, especially Msokey Ocean. The 3D ones are nice for being more pigmented but I have to agree, they aren’t for everyone

Oh I saw these but there were no testers. I just wanted to play around, not to buy anything… but hey, if I were to purchase anything, I’d definitely want to swatch something, right? Rant aside, I love Lunasol lip products and their blushes (though sheer) are amazing Lily recently blogged…Smoke It Good With Dior Blue Denim and Khôl

I like the pink and orange palette, although I am not sure how to wear these colours… And the neutral ones are great colours too!! oh i cannot decide!! I am a sucker for eye-shadows… :p but yeah, so shimmery!!

The lipsticks all look like very safe colour to wear. I’m in a bright lips phase at the moment. Still love your tangerine scream from Sleek Makeup.

You’d be surprised at how wearable these colours are then again, most Japanese shadows tend to look the same after a while don’t you think? Lol also all tend to be shimmery which can put off a lot of people. Unlike you, I’m now in a subdued glossy lip phase hehe… Interesting how our tastes change from time to time eh?

I got the blue green nail polish and it’s really pretty! I did get the blue green eye palette as well and haven’t whipped it out to swatch yet. At the time of purchase, the counter did not have the testers available so I sorta bought blindly based on the promotional model poster.lyn recently blogged…Staying In Tune to Chanel Harmonie du Soir Quadra Eyeshadow

love the nail polish color too! so tiffany! i like the blusher the most, eyeshadow are too shimmer that I don’t think I will use on daily basis, but i love the colors.Jean recently blogged…Singapore – Maison Ikkoku Specialty Coffee

The eye colours don’t look interesting. Haven’t been much interested in Japanese eye shadows for the recent year or two. They all sort of look the same after a while especially if i’ve quite a handful of palettes from the various Lunasol range. I do however really love their blushes. I would say it’s my favorite blush brand for japanese range. Guilty here, but i’m still keeping this favorite Testimo lipstick up til now. It’s my favorite pink
lippie and i still couldn’t find one to beat it. Not that i still wear it but it’s my benchmark for a perfect shade of natural pink that don’t wash me out. And i’m just not going to throw it away.

I used to be crazy about Japanese shadows but you’re right, the whole gradational colour thing gets tired after a while and it all starts looking the same. Bad for collectors but good for those starting out I guess I will agree with you bout the blushes. Lunasol blushes are really nice!

Thank you for the Lunasol swatches! It is so difficult to find them online, especially since most of the blogs that feautre them don’t use English (obviously), so it’s very helpful to have them here.

I originally wanted the blue green palette, but now I’m thinking maybe the pink one. I’ve wanted to try their eyeshadow for a while now, I love the other items I’ve tried from them, blusher, gel liner, powder foundation…

That polish reminds me of Dior’s Saint-Tropez by the way. My first thought when I saw it.

I’m glad you found the swatches helpful, Leila I was wondering if I should put them up because they were not quite colour accurate and now I’m glad I did I too have noticed a dearth of English blogs that feature these items so I’ll bear them in mind the next time I have swatches the shadows are nice, and if you can wear pink, I think it’ll look really fresh. I find that with Japanese shadows, layering is key. I think you’re right about the polish. Quite a few of these around aren’t they?

Thank you for such a detailed review of the whole collection! :)) appreciate the time and effort put in!

Looks like I would choose the exact same colors/ items as you if I were to buy anything from this collection. I love neutral eyeshadow palettes and natural looking coral color lippies. Call me safe and boring

Recently, I fall myself leading more towards european brands like Dior r even Chanel for eyeshadow and lippies. Maybe I’m getting a bit older and want to try stronger color combinations and colors? This whole collection from lunasol reminds so much of what they had for their past Spring collections. I wish more more I interesting and (odd) eyeshadow combinations which can help me break through from the boring me. Hahaha

My very first lippie is from T’estimo! I still have it with me and it’s a very lovely coral color which I am still unable to find duplicate till now. I miss T’estimo!

Awww another T’estimo fan! I miss the brand too. I didn’t think much of Coffret D’or that replaced it. Have you tried that brand? I’m glad you found the post helpful. I’m never quite sure if these sort of posts are maybe you just want to branch out to something more exciting in terms of colour. I started out with intense colour, went to sheer Japanese type colours, went back to intense colours and am now back in the sheer phase. Been wearing some of their older palettes and the T’estimo palettes recently. A nice rediscovery

I like Japanese eyeshadows because they have pretty neutral shades that are not too heavily pigmented which make it easier for application. Though I have been underwhelmed by the colour palettes Lunasol (and other Japanese brands) releases. It is hard to come up with new ideas four times a year in e same format. Of all the quads you showed here, I like e blue me best. It is the most eye catching of me all! And that nail polish is gorgeous for spring.Beauty Box recently blogged…Do You Wear Lip Liner?

I love the quality of Japanese shadows and the blendability but you’re right, there’s only so much variation when they tend to do mostly gradational colours or safe colours. Then again, this is perhaps reflective of trends in Japan and not worldwide? The nail polishes are lovely though, aren’t they? A lovely pop of colour.

Thank you Sara I know exactly what you mean about the Lunasol eyeshadow palettes. They do tend to take on that same-same vibe after a while which can be off putting especially for collectors. But I’m glad they did something exciting with the nail polishes – the blue is so awesome!